Robin McKelle – Impressions of Ella (2023) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Robin McKelle – Impressions of Ella (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 48:34 minutes | 922 MB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © naïve

“For me, “Impressions of Ella” feels like a homecoming of sorts. Like a family reunion after years of separation. A reconnection with the music that fueled my most formative musical years and it was Ella Fitzgerald that left quite an impression. I admired the effortless way she made herself a part of the band, even though she was the star. Her powerful voice and explosive scat to the most delicate tones had me hooked. I wanted to celebrate her and the style of her sound but in doing so, keeping my own individuality. Legendary pianist, Kenny Barron, Kenny Washington (drums) and Peter Washington (bass) played this music with such finesse. Their knowledge and experience of the repertoire is undeniable and they effortlessly breathed a new life into these classics. I reached for the stars with this album and I really hope you enjoy listening!” Robin McKelle February 2023; From country music to rhythm and blues, Robin McKelle has made an entire career exploring the rich vastness of American music. With Impressions of Ella, McKelle returns to her traditional jazz roots and finds herself right at home. Introducing Robin McKelle, her eponymous 2006 debut, delved into a dozen timeless standards of the swing era (“Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Night and Day,” “On the Sunny Side of the Street”). For her latest effort, McKelle draws from only one source and perhaps her greatest artistic influence, Ella Fitzgerald. “The concept of the music of Ella came about because she was my first introduction to vocal jazz. I learned so much from her singing – the style of her swing feel and her singing resonates [with] me.” To help bring her concept to life, McKelle enlists a brand new trio of venerated jazz players: Kenny Washington on drums, bassist Peter Washington, and NEA Jazz Master Kenny Barron on piano. “I wasn’t intimidated to make music with them, but [their] résumés were like, ‘Wow!’ [Am I] going to be good enough? Are we going to connect? The exciting thing was having the opportunity to sing over them as a trio; that was such a huge joy.” The bond between a vocalist and an accompanist is perhaps one of music’s most profound and extraordinary unions. Barron, a living jazz piano virtuoso, keenly understands this more than most. Cutting his teeth as a sideman for Philly Joe Jones and Dizzy Gillespie, Barron has recorded more than 50 albums, spanning over five decades, as leader. With Impressions of Ella, she doesn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel or limit her potential for creative expression. While it lauds our “First Lady of Song,” the album also marks an inevitable coming of age for McKelle’s career in jazz, as the fruits of her hard work and years of training finally ripen and bear fruit.After her big band beginnings, resolutely anchored in traditional forms of jazz, followed by increasingly notable incursions towards soul, rhythm, blues and pop that describe an agile technique and holistic sense of entertainment, the singer Robin McKelle seems, in recent years, to have naturally returned to her first love. As proof, this magnificent new album is designed, as its name suggests, as a personal and impressionistic evocation of the inimitable vocal art of the brilliant Ella Fitzgerald. Unfussy and faithful to the text and the great standards immortalised by this icon of swing jazz, Robin McKelle showcases a mature mixture of humility and know-how as she deploys all the facets of her outstanding talent: a clear and irresistibly fresh timbre, supple and beautifully articulated phrasing gliding as close as possible to the melodic line with varying intensity, placement and rhythm of great musicality, and a constant emotional commitment offering personal interpretations of the song lyrics. Magnificently accompanied by a sumptuous trio, composed of the pianist Kenny Barron, double bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Kenny Washington, the record is imperial throughout, both in terms of elegance and expressiveness. Robin McKelle has not only put her name to her most touching and personal album to date but has put herself among the greatest real jazz singers of the present day. – Stéphane Ollivier

Tracklist:

1-01. Robin McKelle – Old Devil Moon (04:19)
1-02. Robin McKelle – My One and Only (02:48)
1-03. Robin McKelle – Lush Life (05:51)
1-04. Robin McKelle – How High the Moon (02:50)
1-05. Kurt Elling – I Won’t Dance (04:17)
1-06. Robin McKelle – Embraceable You (04:40)
1-07. Robin McKelle – Do Nothing Til You Hear from Me (07:01)
1-08. Robin McKelle – Robbin’s Nest (04:37)
1-09. Robin McKelle – Taking a Chance on Love (03:48)
1-10. Robin McKelle – April in Paris (04:46)
1-11. Robin McKelle – Soon (03:31)

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